I lied, new tamper makes it's way in.

Okay, okay, I lied. . . sorry!

If you read on my blog entry about the Espro, it was supposed to be my one and only. There was simply no reason to look any futher than the Espro tamper. Solid, feels good in my hand, tells me when I hit 30 pounds, what else could a guy ask for? Well, I’ve been reading CoffeeGeek.com and Home-Barista.com quite a bit and there is endless debate as to if a flat bottom or a convex bottom is the way to go. It got me thinking (and that is saying a LOT!).

So, welcome home to my Deluxe Lava Tamp with a CONVEX base. I doubt I'll use this new tamper much for when I use my spouts, but for a naked extraction, I think it might make them more 'porn worthy'. So far, the results have been hit or miss (more hits though. . .).

The Lava Tamp also feels good in my hand. Slightly lighter than the Espro, but still substantial. The height too is very close to the Espro tamper. You can see how they stack up below:

The convex base versus the flat of the Espro.


Now that I have a flat and a convex, we'll see if I can hold off from adding to my ever growing collection of espresso gadgets. With this order, I added two new frothing pitchers and a Pallo group head brush (still en route).


I'm hoping not to run out of room or even more so - the wife not running out of patience!

YIKES!

HAIR BENDER!

Okay, I got my first order of Stumptown’s Hair Bender Blend in. Fresh roasted and rested a few days, just right for pulling! This blend is fantastic. I will gladly re-order and I like the fact that it doesn’t become sickly sweet after it’s first week. Thick, rich and gooey! A whole latte yum (har-har)!

I pulled shots for sippin’, I pulled shots for iced lattes, I pulled shots for macchiatos, I pulled shots for cappuccinos. . . I pulled all kinds of shots and they were all FANTASTIC!

A naked pull early on in the week:


Another, goopey, gloppy shot:



The start of a beautiful naked pull.



My overstretched milk, I like to coin this one the 'Plumber's Crack' ;)


I’ve also got a pound of their Ethiopian Sidamo to pulls as Single Origin espresso and I can’t wait to get into it!

Honey'ed Espresso

Based on an idea from Mark Prince's CoffeeKid.com, I decided to try a honey'ed espresso.

Granted I just used some Publix honey - I think I might search out what he used and give 'er a try.

Pre-heated my cup (inside and out) to help the honey melt. Used the hot water wand on my machine:

Dump the water in the Demitasse and let the honey sit for a while to melt:

Ready for brewin'!

And the shot:


Although pretty good, I think I needed more honey. It sweetened it just a tad but I thought the honey flavors would come through more. I'll try again by the end of the weekend!

Macchiato Madness!

During the last week or so I’ve been pulling the Red Sea Blend from Intelligentsia. As an espresso shot, it wasn’t doing it for me. Had a bit of a bite, a harshness I didn’t care for. I did however LOVE it in milk drinks. My morning routine is to make a HUGE latte for the Mrs. and then use the ‘scraps’ in my steaming pitcher for my drink. I should maybe pour mine first and then I could maybe get a little art in my cup – but I put off my drinks until I’m finished with hers. I’ve just started drinking macchiatos and a have been loving them. The dollop of milk cuts the bite just enough to make the Red Sea Blend wonderful. After my morning macchiato – a little Splenda in the cup makes it palatable as a shot. Maybe I’m brewing this at the wrong temp, maybe it’s the blend. I don’t know, but I do know if I order more – it’s getting cut with milk each and every time. . .

I love the Espresso Monkey cups from SweetMarias!






Not pretty, but they do the job!